For today we've got one of RoeTaKa's best arrangements to date, and that means quite a bit given how prolific & consistently inspired he's become. I hear bits of Orff & echoes of the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack, but it's ultimately all about the epic, gothic-symphonic style Alex has cultivated & applied to the Souls/BB universe with astounding results. Moving strings, giant choral sustains, and unrelenting momentum highlight this exciting mix:

Lots of requests for this one! After my last Dark Souls 3 remix, I got to see what people's favourite songs were from the soundtrack by requests. This track probably got the most requests, and I was daunted by it because I just could never think what to do with it. Usually, I pick something I enjoy and the idea naturally forms because I have a personal attachment to it. When you realize that properly, then people will engage it because it's not tainted by anything else, and with that you hope people will relate and be drawn to it. If I had gone with my gut instinct, I'd probably have made something sad and reflective, as this song is for two brothers whose souls are merged and they turn their backs on their duty. In the end, I just had a crack at it today and just went with it. I went for something close to the original but just another take on it, which I'm still happy with. I do these remixes because I enjoy them, but it also gained me quite a following, over 20,000 subscribers on YouTube as of writing this, so I was happy to keep doing these. But I also feel it's coming to an end now and it's time to focus on more original material, and perhaps get back into some different games to remix.

My take on this was to keep the energy and the epic feeling but do my own twist here and there. The triplets are dropped from the big choir sections - it's fun to hear things in different moods, it's also in a different key. The section before 0:51 has very rapid spiccato, but then switches to a focused rhythm that's more driving, more of a heroic vibe about it - I like that sort of thing. The melody at 1:57, I felt I probably should've used more but instead gave it a bigger moment with choir than in the original. The following section I just made some nice chords with the triplets. I was heavily reminded of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (love that soundtrack!) and did something that reminded me of that. 2:52 is a little cameo from Demon's Souls - made me laugh when I thought about it and how it would segue into the big choir section really well. Threw in a little something towards the end because I thought it would be fun and the end of Lothric castle reminds me of Demon's Souls.

That's about it. Hopefully in the future, I'll remix different things more often! I've always been an underdog person myself, usually going for things that aren't popular... it's nice when something like the Souls games do find their audience. I am going to be taking a break from doing Souls remixes for a while. I'm pretty burnt out and I have plans for a new album, so I hope you all look forward to that. Thanks again!"

I don't think anyone could fault Alex in a million years for changing gears for a bit, or accuse him of not doing amazing sonic justice to this series' music. His popularity & following are hard-earned & deserved, which isn't always the case on YouTube - it's been cool to see his work resonate so much, and the Souls games have a pretty die-hard following with high expectations. This is one of my favorites because it achieves grand height & taut, palpable suspense while remaining intensely focused. Gario writes:

"Great soundtrack music - grand and full of energy. It manages to be even more epic than the Dark Souls 3 source, which is impressive considering its own grand orchestral style. Timestamps help out a great deal, and while it's in a different key it's still easy to recognize."

DragonAvenger adds:

"Wow, this is epic. Great take on the original, which I can definitely hear (thank you very much for the specific time stamps between the mix and the original, BTW!). The mixing felt great overall with great balance between all the parts. The soundscape sounds full without being overcrowded, and the flow of the mix is also very good. I have no bad things to say here!"

Nor do I; though I've dug every single modern mix we've posted from Alex, this makes the short list of my very favorites with its blend of fast & slow elements and its overwhelming scope. Gigantic, beautiful, and highly recommended!

Discussion

There's a reason why I hesitate to label something as epic---it's
so that I can say it for a ReMix like this! If this is the
last Dark Souls ReMix you want to do, at least you blew us out of
the water.

The dense textures could have easily washed out the mix, and the
choir could have felt cheesy or made this sound like any other
overly straightforward symphonic piece, but you made it
work.

The apparent energy stayed fairly constant for the most part, and
most of the changing dynamics were in the addition and removal of
textures, rather than the variation of the core rhythm, which is
probably the only critique I had about this.

If this is the way this remixer goes out (with this series), it
is done wonderfully. I particularly enjoyed 2:30-2:55, and the
following sections deliver the finish. It's epic orchestral to
perfection!

On a larger note, Roetaka's Dark Souls series (as I've come to
think of these postings) has been one of the most enjoyable
out-of-nowhere surprises I can think of in all my time at this
site. CONGRATULATIONS ON A WELL-DESERVED RELAXATION! I'm excited
for this author's new directions and new challenges - but I have
to say, couldn't be more excited that he gave such a fitting
tribute to his run of dominance. Well, well, well done!

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